The words are “At least …”, which I find myself saying more often than I care to admit:

Client/colleague/friend

Me

“I’m concerned we’re not going to get the results we need.”

“I’m hearing some uncertainty. At least you have a good team working for you.”

“I’m just not sure how to help this client.”

“It sounds complicated. At least you have a client to help.”

“I am so sick of snow.”

“Yeah, it’s been rough. At least your street got plowed quickly!”

Just as the word “but” in a sentence negates anything positive that comes before it, “at least” negates anything empathetic. So much so that University of Houston researcher and Daring Greatly author Brené Brown called specific attention to it in one of her talks.

In that same talk, Dr. Brown said something profound about empathy: “In order to connect with you, I have to connect with something in myself that knows that feeling.”

Andrea Howe

As the founder of The Get Real Project, I am the steward of our vision and our service offerings, as well as a workshop leader and keynote speaker.
Above all else, I am an entrepreneur on a mission: to kick conventional business wisdom to the curb and transform how people work together as a result. I am also the co-author, with Charles H. Green, of The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook (Wiley, 2012).